Nintendo sure knows how to pack announcements into their Nintendo Directs. The latest Smash Direct revealed two new playable characters, three echo fighters, two brand new stages, new items, new Pokémon, a handful of returning stages, stage morph, and a whole bunch more.
Here’s a complete run-down of everything you need to know:
Character Reveals
Nintendo opened and closed the Super Smash Bros Ultimate Direct with brand new character reveals, whilst also packing three newly announced echo fighters in the middle.
Simon Belmont
As the previous leak suggested, Simon Belmont of Castlevania was announced as a newcomer in Smash Bros Ultimate. Simon uses his signature whip, which has a longer average reach than any other fighter but it’s quite slow and can leave players open to attacks. His specials include Axe, Cross, Holy water, Uppercut, and his final smash move is Grand Cross.
King K. Rool
King K. Rool, the villain from the Donkey Kong Country games, was also announced as a playable character. His attacks include firing cannons from his trusty blunderbuss and throwing his crown like a boomerang at opponents. King K. Rool’s final smash is currently unknown.
Richter Belmont (Echo Fighter)
Richter Belmont was revealed as an echo fighter of Simon Belmont. In the Castlevania series, Richter is a descendant of Simon Belmont. His move-set is the same as Simon’s in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
Chrom (Echo Fighter)
Chrom from Fire Emblem was announced as an echo fighter of Roy. Nintendo stated that Chrom was a highly requested character and is slightly different from Roy. Although, the differences weren’t detailed.
Dark Samus (Echo Fighter)
Dark Samus (of Metroid) was revealed as an echo fighter of Samus. Dark Samus is a Phazon that takes Samus’ form. Like Chrom, Nintendo stated that Dark Samus would also differ slightly but didn’t specify how.
Stage Reveals
Super Smash Bros Ultimate will include over 100 stages for players to choose from, with Nintendo boasting that if you counted Battlefield and Omega forms, then the number would be over 300. During the Direct a number of additional stages (some new, some old) were revealed.
Dracula’s Castle
Simon and Richter Belmont wouldn’t be complete without their own Castlevania themed stage to fight on. Dracula’s Castle will feature various bosses from the Castlevania series and hitting the stage’s lit candles will spawn items to use in battle. Dracula himself will also appear and attack fighters, although the conditions that cause his appearance haven’t been revealed yet.
New Donk City Hall
Super Mario Odyssey’s Metro Kingdom has also made its way onto Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The kingdom’s main landmark, New Donk City Hall, has been reworked as a brand new stage.
Returning Stages
In addition to two brand new stages, Nintendo announced that the following stages from previous Super Smash Bros titles would be making a return:
- Saffron City
- Hyrule Castle
- Dream Land
- Kongo Jungle
New Items and Assists
Brand New Items
Super Smash Bros Ultimate will introduce a number of new items to the series. Among the items revealed were:
- Banana Gun – A banana that fires a bullet, then turns into a banana peel.
- Killing Edge – A blade that’s launch power and damage doubles when it glows.
- Bomber – A walking bomb that when held in the air, explodes!
- Death’s Scythe – A Scythe that can instantly KO badly damaged fighters.
- Staff – Fires projectiles, damage increases the further away your target is.
- Ramblin’ Evil Mushroom – Its spores reverse an opponents controls.
- Rage Blaster – A gun that’s power increases with your damage meter.
New Pokémon
New Pokémon and Pokémon forms have been added as Poké Ball assists. During the Direct, the following new assist Pokémon were shown:
- Alolan Exeggutor
- Abra
- Solgaleo
- Lunala
- Mimikyu
- Pyukumuku
- Vulpix
- Alolan Vulpix
- Marshadow
- Ditto
New Assist Trophies
Some of the new assist trophies include:
- Alucard (Castlevania)
- Zero (Mega Man franchise)
- Knuckles (Sonic the Hedgehog)
- Krystal (Star Fox)
- Klaptrap (Donkey Kong)
- Kapp’n (Animal Crossing)
- Chef Kawasaki (Kirby)
- Gray Fox (Metal Gear)
- Nikki (Swapnote / Letter Box mascot)
- Shovel Knight (Shovel Knight)
- Moon (The Legend of Zelda)
- Rathalos (Monster Hunter)
New and Improved Battle Modes
Squad Strike
Squad Strike is a brand new battle mode in which players select a team of either three or five fighters. Chosen fighters are then used consecutively in an elimination-style battle.
Tourney Mode
A knockout tournament mode where up to 32 different players and/or CPU participants can fight through a series of rounds to determine the ultimate winner. Tournament brackets are automatically generated and usually offer the player multiple brackets to choose from.
Smashdown
Smashdown is a new special smash mode, where players are forced to choose a different fighter for each round. Once a fighter has been used (by either player) they will not be available to select in the next battle.
Training Mode
Training mode, which allows players to practice using the game’s fighters, has seen a number of improvements. Training now includes a stage with a background grid system. Launches distances also now provide the player with three trajectory curves. The red line displays distance while at 0% damage, the blue line at 100%, and the line at 50%.
Stamina Battle
Joining Time Battle and Stock battle as a standard battle option, Stamina battle sees character’s damage meter replace with a HP system. Each fighter battles it out until their health points are depleted and only one is left standing.
Other Reveals
Stage Morph
A brand new stage option is being added to Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Stage Morph allows the player to select an additional stage to transition in to during a battle. Players will seamlessly changeover stages while still fighting their opponents.
Classic Mode
Classic mode makes a return, allowing players to take on a series of fighters in a single-player experience. Each fighter has a specific set of stages and opponents to take on.
The Switch becomes an MP3 Player
During the Smash Direct it was revealed that, with Super Smash Bros Ultimate, the Nintendo Switch can be used in a similar manner to an MP3 player. When the Switch is in handheld mode, it’s screen can be turned off and users can listen to over 28 hours of in-game music. Including the 34 newly announced Castlevania tracks, short musical passage and menu audio; Nintendo revealed that Super Smash Bros Ultimate will contain over 900 musical compositions.
First Look at the Game’s Main Menu
Nintendo provided fans with a first look at Super Smash Bros Ultimate main menu. The menu included a mysterious (pixelated) mode seen in the green block, which Director Sakurai said they weren’t ready to reveal yet. The side (ZR) menu also showed another icon that was censored out.